Ask Us: When will the Wilson Cleaners building be torn down?

Q: Why have they not removed the old Wilson's Cleaners building between Franklin and Madison? It looks like it will be a hazard if left standing so close to the widened Governor's Drive.

Why is the work pace so slow? It seems that such a short span of such a busy road could be worked on more regularly for a faster completion. - Mary Reynolds, Huntsville

A: The former Wilson Cleaners building cannot be demolished until the Alabama Department of Environmental Management determines what contamination is in the ground there and how it will be removed, said Rudy Hornsby, senior vice president of operations for Huntsville Hospital.

The hospital owns the property, but ADEM is in charge of the cleanup, he said.

Wilson Cleaners participated in the ADEM environmental dry cleaners trust fund when it was in business, Hornsby said. The trust fund is a type of insurance policy, he said. Cleaning businesses pay into the ADEM trust fund, which pays for a cleanup if contamination is found.

Cleaning solvents leeched into the ground decades ago, Hornsby said. ADEM will develop a cleanup plan and pay to clean up the property and to demolish the building, he said.

Hornsby said the hospital is pushing ADEM to demolish it as soon as possible. Once the property is cleared, the hospital plans to establish a park or green space there, Hornsby said.

The Governors Drive widening project has been slowed by utilities problems, said Joe Eckardt, area manager for Angeloe Iafrate Construction. Work crews have discovered utility lines in the ground that they didn't know were there, he said.

Much of the work to move utilities and to install drainage has had to be done at night, which has also slowed progress, he said. The project is about three to four months behind schedule, Eckardt said. Originally scheduled to be completed in December, it will be March or April before the work is finished, he said.

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Q: Regarding the question about dogs "off lead" or "off leash," here's a corollary question: During recent hikes at Monte Sano State Park and on Land Trust trails, I have noticed that most dogs (80 or 90 percent) seem to be "off leash" these days. Are there specific park and/or Land Trust regulations that require dogs to be leashed? - Kathy Lane, Huntsville

A: Both Monte Sano State Park and the Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama require dogs to be on leash. But a spokeswoman for the state park said that there is not a lot park employees can do to enforce the rule unless an employee sees a dog off leash. It's not practical to send someone on patrol to look for dogs off leash, she said. The Land Trust posts its regulations at each of its trail heads, said spokeswoman Cathie Mayne. All three of the Land Trust's preserves and all of the state park's approximately 2,500 acres are in the city, which also requires dogs to be on leash or confined.